


Queen above the Tides and Daughter of the Sea

by chararii



Series: Blood and Water [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Family, Gen, Kiri!Sakura, Team Kiri, Violent Thoughts, Worldbuilding, lots of blood, somewhat gritty/dark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:01:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24662734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chararii/pseuds/chararii
Summary: Looking at the girl is like staring into a mirror. Past and present mix and give way for the future, the once and always union between their families.They are born and bred in violence and blood but such is their heritage and such is their legacy.It's Mei and she finally takes Sakura home.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura & Terumi Mei
Series: Blood and Water [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1783150
Comments: 19
Kudos: 484





	Queen above the Tides and Daughter of the Sea

**Author's Note:**

> Here is part two that I didn't plan on writing but with just like so many things I do, it happened anyway. Mei's perspective and conclusion of the (small) series... probably. I'm not very reliable with announcements like this.

She knows from the moment the girl first sets foot inside the Hokage's office. It's not her hair which seems to be her most eye catching feature to anyone that's not like them but the longer she looks the more she pieces the puzzle together. It's in the defined muscle of her arms, the long and thin blade strapped to her back, the steel and rigidity of her spine, the utter coldness in her eyes. Her face is calm, impassive and cool, a combination she has seen in the mirror many many times. There's ANBU in the girl but more than that, a piece of _herself_.

The second the name leaves her lips, she can see it. None of his colouring but everything else. She's an interesting blend, Mei thinks, as she studies the curve of her jaw, the bridge of her nose, even the slant of her eyes. It's all there if one knows what to look for. She can see his heritage even though most of it is hidden beneath her skin and shows itself in the way she moves, speaks and most likely fights. Oh, how Mei wants to see her _fight_.

Kiri is more than a country, more than a place, even more than just a culture. It's something deep in their bones, a bloodline in everything but name, something that ties them together and splashes them all in countless shades of blue and red. She watches the girl occasionally when she has the time but it is upon seeing her mother that Mei finally sees Yagura. Once again it's all in the delicacy of her facial structure, the chilly gaze that surveys the masses around them and the way she holds herself. Their eyes meet and Yagura's child bows her head in respect.

There's no point in trying to hide her interest in the girl. She and her entire family are so obviously out of place that even the civilians know and subsequently, shun them. The shinobi are no better and they shift when the girl passes by, the ones who knows where she's from watch her every move. There's history there, Mei thinks and pokes and prods the Hokage until she hands her the girl's file. Normal rules concerning village security don't apply when she's one of her lost children, a remnant of days long past, a refugee who longs to return home.

She looks at the file and sees a red trail of violence and hunger marking her career from the day she graduated from the academy. She sees a dysfunctional team, an almost failed career caused by a conflict between nature versus nurture and finally a teacher that hates but finds kinship with his charge all the same. She sees Wave and feels a deep sense of hurt within her heart, thinks of this girl being forced to strike down her kin, thinks of Zabuza who used to be on her team and Haku, a lone survivor of the bloodline purges. She sees a struggle that makes her mourn for the child who was raised so far away from home but also makes her smile in utter satisfaction that despite everything, she still came out _right_.

It's an endless fight which Mei knows from experience. Chigiri was a mess, a bloody and terrible mess born from outside influence but even more than that, the instincts that mark their very way of life. Kiri has always been hungry, too ruthless, too eager than the other countries, their sheer instinct to kill and maim in cold efficiency a perfect blend of their water and their blood. Chigiri was a mistake but one that was bound to happen and unless she's careful, will happen again in an endless cycle of violence and death. Mei remembers graduating and cutting down her fellow children and closes her eyes in an effort to ignore how it makes her feel.

(Not all of it is terror)

The girl has been pulled from ANBU for the time being. Nobody tells her that but she sees her around the village and that's clue enough. She watches her run and pace, restless and agitated. She watches her meet with her former team, then gets dragged from the fight by her former teacher as the spar turns too rowdy for his tastes. He lets her unleash herself against him instead and Mei watches and watches, feels her own fingers twitch at the sound of clashing steel and red lines drawn in the grass. She forces herself to calm and remember that she's here for a very specific purpose. She's here to show the fish, not the shark but it's not enough to quell her desires.

Before she mastered her bloodlines, before she mostly relied on her ninjutsu in fights, before she was named Mizukage she had carried the blades of her family and even though she hasn't touched them in a long time she still brings them wherever she goes. A powerful surge runs through her veins as her fingers close around the handle of her mother's katana for the first time in what feels like forever and she gives the blade a single swing in the privacy of her quarters, looks in the mirror and for a single moment sees herself in uniform with braided hair and fierce mask covering her face.

They have an audience, part of which is subtle hiding in the trees while the rest is openly gawking. She draws the blade from its sheath, flexes her gloved fingers and assumes a stance that comes as natural to her as breathing. She sees the girl mirror her after just a second, sees traces of Konoha rigidity and frowns. An oversight she will correct in time. Then she charges.

There is no holding back in Kiri spars, no softness, no quarter and she is pleased to note that the girl shows none of Konoha's faint-heartedness. They twirl and dance around each other, go for each other's throats, try to stab at hearts, kidneys, bellies. She does hold back since she doesn't want to kill this child but she's not _nice_. She cuts her arms and legs, draws a red line over her stomach, gets her cheek and splits the skin of her neck. The girl is good despite lack of Kiri katas and stances and Mei allows her to cut her sleeve and even damage the cloth of her skirt. The Hokage isn't happy but grudgingly acknowledges that Mei has done her a favour by controlling the girl's thirst and sating her lust. She licks some blood off her lips, knows that it isn't hers and tries very hard to keep the shark from showing.

Their fights become harsher and more frequent and prove a welcome respite from talks about politics and having to deal with elders that hate her and her village. She rarely speaks with the girl but teaches her all the same, shows her Kiri techniques and makes her learn through pain and injury. It is their way and there are no complaints from her or her parents, only the watchful eyes of leaf nin, of one who smells like dog in particular. They spar and fight, bite and tear, slice, dice and cut and occasionally, she feels her iron hard control slip. The girl's unconstrained will to kill is infectious, reminds her of days long past and pulls her closer to the edge of a cliff she can't afford to fall off again.

“You want her, don't you?” the Hokage asks one day and Mei only nods, knows that the girl doesn't belong with the forest, wants to bring her family home. She can teach her, only she can put up with her, can foster the monster that runs in Yagura's line. It's a duty, an obligation but more than that, a joy. A peaceful respite, a safe outlet for tendencies that are impossible to control. She is no saint, as far from one as possible, a creature of dark and deep waters with the advantage of looking like a siren. She knows what the girl will turn into, knows that even red ops will not be enough, knows just what she needs. Mei may not be one of Yagura's but she's a monster all the same. She knows what the girl needs because once upon a time, Yagura was to her what she is to Sakura.

The cycle runs and repeats and days later, they leave Konoha with three more people than they entered it with. Karatachi's blood returns to the water where it belongs and Mei looks at Sakura and sees the past, the present and the future.

(They have always belonged together, Karatachi and Terumi, Yagura and Mei, then Mei and Sakura. They're the essence of their home, the backbone of their society, the heart of the ocean, the Queen above the Tides and the Daughter of the Sea.)

**Author's Note:**

> There we go. It's pretty short but I think that's okay.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it, let me know what you think! :)
> 
> (And yes, I lowkey stole that title from World of Warcraft but I think it fits?)


End file.
